AN: *says I'll update every day or so* *promptly forgets this fic exists for like two weeks* Sorry, everybody. In my defense, COVID-19 brain fog is a real pain. I am low-key STRUGGLING. Shout out to Bluelight for reviewing and reminding me! Reviews are always helpful, but yours was especially helpful in jump-starting me. Anyway, here's chapter two!
Lloyd closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath and hopes. He opens his eyes again, but what he was looking at hasn't changed at all.
Gayle Gossip is right there on the Monastery doorstep.
"...Hi," Lloyd says. "Uh. What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious? The sooner I get my interviews, the sooner they can air, so I came as soon as possible," Gayle Gossip says in a tone that implies Lloyd is being very stupid for thinking anything else would be the reason.
Lloyd just stares for a moment. He's pretty sure he told Dareth to tell her that a couple days later would be best. He's also pretty sure he told Dareth to tell her not to come super early in the morning, and yet she knocked on the doors so urgently when Lloyd had only just gotten dressed for the morning and probably at least one or two of the others are still asleep.
"The sooner the better," Gayle Gossip says, and she moves forward into the Monastery, waving the camera guy in behind her.
Lloyd lets her go in, half in shock, half in realization. The sooner the better… That might actually be right. The sooner she comes, the sooner she'll leave.
He closes the Monastery doors and looks at Gayle Gossip. She's looking around like she's never been in there before, even though she was literally in there the evening before. Lloyd sighs. Okay then.
"We're getting ready to have breakfast," Lloyd says. "I think Zane's almost done in the kitchen with the-"
"Excellent," Gayle Gossip interrupts. She spins around and marches forward into the Monastery. The camera guy follows after her.
Lloyd hurries to catch up. "Um, wait, the kitchen's actually this way?"
Gayle Gossip looks where Lloyd's gesturing, does another spin, and marches off again.
Sure enough, Zane is just turning off the stovetop, an assortment of plates bearing eggs, vegetables, and cheeses spread across the counter beside him. Wu is in there too, the two of them speaking softly but warmly. Zane notices the newcomers to the kitchen first and his voice cuts off abruptly.
"What is it?" Wu asks, and then he sees them too.
"Gayle Gossip, NGTV," Gayle Gossip says briskly.
"I recognize you," Wu says calmly. "I'm afraid I just don't recognize why you're here."
"For the interviews," Gayle Gossip says. "Vinny, have you got a good focus?"
"Yeah," the camera guy says.
"Good. I'd like to start with-" Gayle Gossip begins.
"Allow me to say that differently," Wu says. "I'm afraid I just don't recognize why you're here now. I thought we'd communicated that we needed a few days to prepare before having you come here."
Gayle Gossip laughs. "Oh, of course! Of course you did! But that's exactly why I'm here now. It's better to see what's real than what's prepared, for the viewers, of course."
Wu raises his eyebrows.
"The sooner we do it, the sooner it's done," Lloyd says, leaning on the word "done."
Wu pauses a moment, then he nods. "Understood. However, I will ask that you don't disturb how we spend our days too much. We do have things to do."
"Perfect. I'll watch it all," Gayle Gossip says. "And I'll have questions, obviously."
"Obviously," Wu says, sounding more than a little bit pained, but only because Lloyd knows him so well.
Zane speaks up then. "I was about to bring the dishes into the dining room for breakfast. Do you intend to eat with us?"
The camera guy, Vinny, looks excited at that, but Gayle Gossip waves a hand dismissively. "We ate already. You have to be ready for anything when you're working the news."
Vinny slumps his shoulders with a frown.
Zane's eyes dart between Vinny, Gayle Gossip, and, for some reason, Lloyd, who shrugs in response, not sure what Zane is going for. Whatever it is, Zane clearly gets it, because Zane nods with determination. "We would be pleased if you would eat with us."
Vinny straightens up hopefully.
Lloyd nods to Zane, getting it now. "Yeah, it's only right. Here, grab a couple plates, help us get them into the dining room."
Gayle Gossip blinks for a moment, but Vinny immediately leans his camera onto one shoulder and grabs several plates with his now-free hands, asking, "Which way?"
"Follow me," Zane invites, taking up a few plates himself.
Wu takes some plates too, leaving Lloyd to grab the last few and follow them.
Gayle Gossip sticks close as Lloyd follows Zane, Vinny, and Wu to the dining room. Before Lloyd has even set his plates down on the table, and as Zane and Wu leave to bring the others to breakfast, she asks, "Who can I interview first?"
Lloyd puts down the plates and hesitates. He doesn't really want to offer up anyone for her to interview first, but he also doesn't want anyone to feel like they have to wait to be last while being stressed.
"You'd be a good one to start with," Gayle Gossip says, looking him up and down.
Lloyd blinks at her, uncertain what to do with that statement. "Thanks, I guess?"
Gayle Gossip grins sharply and gestures toward Vinny, who comes over and points his camera at them. Gayle Gossip tosses her hair, pulls a microphone from somewhere, and stares into the camera. "I'm here at the Monastery of Spinjitzu, on the Mountains of Impossible Height, with the Green Ninja, Lloyd Garmadon himself. Lloyd Garmadon?"
"Hi," Lloyd says, trying to brace himself for whatever she's about to ask. Maybe it'll even work. "What'd you like to know first?"
"What happened to your father?" Gayle Gossip asks.
Bracing himself definitely didn't work. Lloyd sputters.
"Your father," Gayle Gossip repeats, then adds helpfully, turning to the camera, "I'm speaking of Garmadon himself, the revived lord of darkness himself, as viewers surely know. A man torn repeatedly between good and evil, so much so that he's been brought back to life as a force of cruelty and corruption. That same man is the father of our own Green Ninja."
Lloyd searches for words to object to this line of questioning.
"Hey!" A voice objects.
It's… It's not Lloyd's voice. It's Kai's.
Kai barges into the dining room and demands, "Are we starting already? We can't be starting already! Not without me!"
Kai shoves his way into the camera shot, steering Lloyd out of the way with far more gentleness than it probably looks like. Kai flashes a grin at the camera. "Hey! I'm Kai, the Red Ninja, Master of Fire. But you all probably already know that, right?"
Gayle Gossip looks taken aback.
Vinny looks confused.
Lloyd probably looks overwhelmed, if the look filled with barely-hidden concern that Kai shoots his way is any indicator. Lloyd nods and gives Kai a small smile of relief.
Kai smiles wide back and nudges Lloyd a little further out of the camera shot. "So! Breakfast, huh? Bet you're not ready to see what a ninja eats. Let me tell you, we really have to pack it in. Ninja-ing takes a lot of energy, you know!"
"Please don't use 'ninja' as a verb," Nya says, suddenly there at Lloyd's side and tugging him toward the table. "It's not a verb."
"It could be," Kai says hopefully.
"But it is not," Pixal counters.
Lloyd takes a look around. Zane and Wu must've hurried to get everyone up, because the dining room is now full. Lloyd catches Wu's eye.
Wu raises his eyebrows so high they disappear into his hat.
Lloyd grimaces and nods. Yeah, he's already regretting giving Dareth this favor. Gayle Gossip is going to be a handful.
And a handful is exactly what she is. All throughout breakfast, she makes commentary to Vinny, who films exactly what she points out, much to the annoyance and often discomfort of everyone else. By the time they're cleaning up at the end of the meal, Jay has squirmed in his seat so often Lloyd's surprised he didn't just fall off it, Misako has a frown set on her lips, and Cole is half-hiding behind Kai's shoulder.
"Well, that was enlightening," Gayle Gossip declares brightly.
"We're done, then?" Lloyd asks.
Gayle Gossip laughs. It's definitely a "laugh at him" one, not a "laugh with him" one. "Of course not! The idea was 'a day in the life of a ninja,' not 'a breakfast,' so let's keep going. Who's up to be interviewed first?"
"Sorry, but we need to fix the Destiny's Bounty right away," Nya says quickly, rising from her seat. "Come on, Jay, Pixal."
"We do need to accomplish that," Pixal agrees.
"We do?" Jay asks, then he hurriedly says it again with more confidence when Nya widens her eyes at him meaningfully. "We do! Yes! Clearly!"
The three of them grab their dishes and are about to book it out of the room when Gayle Gossip says, "What an interesting project! Isn't the new Destiny's Bounty just that, new?"
"Yes," Nya says quickly, freezing. "But we need to make sure it's up to ninja standards. We've got very specific standards. Lots of standards that are needed for our missions."
"Our viewers would love to find out more about that," Gayle Gossip says, and she starts to get up from her chair.
"Nah," Kai says immediately. "It's boring stuff. Hey, wouldn't your viewers love a good sit-down with a couple of ninjas with nothing else to do?"
"Full attention on the interview is always a good thing," Cole adds. "It makes for better content, which makes for better ratings, or so I've heard."
"Who've you heard that from?" Gayle Gossip asks, redirecting her focus onto Cole.
Cole's eyes dart to the side, and Lloyd turns to see Nya, Jay, and Pixal rushing out of the room. Lloyd watches until they're gone, then he turns back just in time to see Cole give a forced grin.
"All our show business contacts, of course," Cole says.
Gayle Gossip looks intrigued. "Show business contacts?"
"Yeah," Kai says, quickly answering when Cole hesitates. "We've got contacts in all kinds of businesses, show included. I bet you'd like to hear all about that."
Gayle Gossip nods energetically. "Oh, yes. You two can go first."
Kai and Cole trade a glance.
"Sure thing," Kai says brightly. "Let's go!"
Kai and Cole head out of the dining room, closely followed by Gayle Gossip and Vinny.
Lloyd glances at Zane, Wu, and Misako.
"We'll take care of cleaning up this mess," Misako says. She lowers her voice. "You take care of making sure she doesn't make too much of her own mess."
Lloyd nods and runs after Gayle Gossip.